Czechs halt Google’s ‘Street View,’ cite privacy

PRAGUE – The Czech Republic has refused to grant Google permission to expand its “Street View” because the mapping feature invades peoples’ privacy, the government’s privacy watchdog said Wednesday.

The Czech Office for Personal Data Protection has been investigating the issue since April, and last week it did not give Google Inc. the necessary registration for “Street View” in the eastern European country but did not explain why.

Google at the time considered it a temporary decision. On Wednesday, the U.S. Internet giant said it was closely cooperating with the Czech government agency and providing all the details required to be allowed to continue in collecting data…more